SALIENCY
 

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Breathing 101

     "The brain uses about 20 percent of the oxygen you breathe." When a child gets angry, his or her breathing pattern changes almost immediately. Breathing becomes shallower and significantly faster. This  breathing pattern is inefficient, and the oxygen content in the angry child’s blood is lowered, subsequently there is less oxygen available in the brain and he or she may become more irritable, impulsive, confused, and prone to negative behavior (such as yelling, threatening, or hitting another person). The way how we breathe has a huge impact on how we feel moment by moment.

The purpose of breathing is to get oxygen from the air into our bodies and to blow off waste products such as carbon dioxide. Brain cells are particularly sensitive to oxygen, as they start to die within four minutes when they are deprived of it. Slight changes in oxygen content in the brain can alter the way a person feels and behaves.

     Temper problems, anxiety, impulsivity, restlessness, insomnia, and lack of focus are common problems in people with ADHD. I have found that a very simple biofeedback breathing technique helps to combat these problems. It is so simple, in fact,  that many people will be skeptical about how helpful it can be and not use it. Big mistake. Let me tell you why.

     Like brain activity, breathing is also involved in everything we do. Breathing is essential to life. The purpose of breathing is to get oxygen from the air into your body and to blow off waste products such as carbon dioxide. Every cell in your body needs oxygen in order to function properly. Brain cell are particularly sensitive to oxygen, as they start to die within four minutes when they are deprived of it. Slight changes in oxygen content in the brain can alter the way a person feels and behaves. When a person gets angry, his or her breathing pattern changes almost immediately. Breathing becomes more shallow and the rate increases significantly. This breathing patter is inefficient and the oxygen content in the person’s blood is lowered. Subsequently there is less oxygen available to a person’s brain and he or she can become more irritable, impulsive, and confused, causing him or her to make bad decisions, such as to yell, threaten, or hit another person.

     To correct this negative breathing pattern, I teach my patients to become “experts” at “breathing slowly and deeply, mostly with their bellies.” Many people, especially men, breathe exclusively with their chests, which is an inefficient way to breathe. If you watch a baby or a puppy breathe, you notice that their breathe almost solely with their bellies. That is much more efficient. If you expand your belly when you breathe in, it allows room for your lungs to inflate downward, increasing the amount of air available to your body. I teach patients to breathe with their bellies by watching their pattern with a book on top of their bellies. In fifteen to twenty minutes, most people can learn how to change their breathing patterns, which relaxes them and gives them better control over how they feel and behave.

     To do this at home, lie on your back and place a small book on your belly. When you breathe in, make the book up, and when you breathe out, make the book go down. Shifting the energy of breathing lower in your body will help you feel more relaxed and in better control of yourself.

You can use this breathing technique to help you be more focused, less anxious, and to have better control over your temper. It is easy to learn and it can also be applied to help with the sleep problems so common in ADHD.

     Here is an example of how helpful this technique can be. If a person complains of symptoms and problems with anxiety and temper, and this person also talks fast and breathes in a shallow, quick manner. One of the recommendations is to do three sessions of breathing biofeedback. It is amazing how this form of breathing is and how relaxed people feel  in a short period of time. The level of anxiety improves and better control of his or her temper also improves.

     “Breathe! Slow down your breathing.” People who have panic attacks breathe too fast; by slowing down your breathing you start to get control over yourself. I did that and felt calmer. Ever since I learned this technique, I have used it personally. I used it when I feel anxious, angry, or stressed. It sounds so simple, but breathing is essential to life. When we slow down and become more efficient at it, most things seem better.

Road Rage

"Nero fiddles while Rome burns"

     Something happens to many people when they get behind the wheel of a car; a territorial animal comes growling to the surface. Cingulated people tend to the worst. The problem is trouble shifting attention. For example if you are driving on a highway and someone accidentally cuts you off, most people will think to themselves, “You careless human being,” and then leave the situation alone. People with cingulate problems say to themselves. “You careless human being, %$@#*...” and they cannot get the thought out of their head.

     Many cingulated people had acted out their frustrations by doing crazy things on the road, such as swearing, gesturing, chasing, or harassing the other driver. Sometimes, very bright, professional, and successful people, who on several occasions chased other drivers who cut them off, got out of their cars, and bashed their windows in with a baseball bat they kept the car. Fortunately, they asked for help saying: “If I don’t get help for this, I’m sure I’ll end up in jail.” Obviously, their cingulate gyrus was markedly overactive, causing to get locked into the negative thoughts and subsequently be less able to control their frustrations.

"Ira furor brevis est."   "Anger is brief insanity" (Horace, epistles I, 2, 62).

Blood Pressure

High blood pressure typically develops without any signs or symptoms.  Left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can lead to serious problems including heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.  Risk factors can include: age, race, family history, smoking and stress.  The latest blood pressure guidelines are divided into four different categories:

Normal:

Blood pressure is normal if it’s below 120/80 mmHg.

Pre-hypertension:

Systolic (the first, or upper, number) pressure ranging from 120 to 139 or a diastolic (the second, or bottom, number) pressure ranging from 80 to 89.

Stage 1 hypertension:

A systolic pressure ranging from 140 to 159 or a diastolic ranging from 90 to 99.

Stage 2 hypertension:

A systolic pressure that is 160 or higher or a diastolic pressure that is 100 or higher.

Treatment of high blood pressure can prevent serious, even life threatening complications.  Changing your lifestyle can also help lower your blood pressure.  Managing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, getting more physical activity and eating healthier foods are all changes that you can make to prevent or control high blood pressure.

Cholesterol Management

     Cholesterol is a soft-waxy sticky substance that is made by the liver (80%). It travels in the blood as two compound. Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) known as the “bad cholesterol” because it doesn’t get carried easier or move around quicker. High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) known as the “good cholesterol” because it helps clean the arteries. There is not such thing as good cholesterol, bad cholesterol or total cholesterol. It’s just cholesterol, and is not a poison.” – Shane Ellison (former medicinal chemist for Eli Lilly).

     Cholesterol is needed to manufacture hormones, bile acid (to digest fat, food, and vitamin D), and vitamin D (our bodies will not absorve vitamin D without choelsterol). There is also a 30% increase in cancer if there is a deficiency of vitamin D. Our bodies cannot make estrogen, testosterone, cortisone, and a host of other vital-critical hormones without cholesterol. Our bones will rot away, there will be a lack of energy, lost of muscle mass, and you will feel tired, sluggish, and weak if there is not enough cholesterol.

     It’s the “oxidation” (tarrying of the blood vessels, the toxicity, and the inflamation of the vessels) of cholesterpol that causes Heart Disease (HD). HDL takes…….to the liver to reprocess and distribute it. LDL takes it back form the liver to the body. HDL and LDL work together.